Where are we now?

Our house sold in May! We are now renting by the ocean, everyday is like a vacation. Old beach house with a lake in the back and the front yard is the Atlantic Ocean(at least across the street). We are now one step closer to sailing away or are we? Eight months maybe ten we will be debt free except for two cars. Can't wait for that. Now we ponder the idea of leaving. I can retire from teaching this year. House gone. Debt almost gone. Kids situated for now. Maybe, we don't want to go now! I have read about how feelings come and go on leaving your comfortable house for a boat and can tell you we are having second thoughts. For now, we will look at boats and see where the next couple of months take us.

Duality

     A very strange state; the waiting/preparing mindset.  It's a state that permeates all thoughts, decisions, and actions.  When buying Christmas gifts for one another, it must be something we can use on the boat.  When we buy groceries or prepare our favorite meals, we are constantly altering recipes for preparation on the boat.  When we purchase clothing, we look for certain fabrics that will work in the heat and humidity.  This dual state of existence we live in is challenging on some levels, but exciting for us.  When enjoying "land experiences", we appreciate the moment, every moment.

Life on the boat the first 24

We have been on Richard's boat for about 30 hours and it feels like we belong. Today we put the sails up and furled them so now all we have to do is pull the sheets and off we go. My experience with my Hobie Cat for 25 years has helped with my understanding of this mono hull. The sails rig the same way just bigger and carry more wind as you are raising them. The wind rustling in sails is a wonderful sound! The goal today is to get gas and water and stage closer to the ocean. Staging helps save time traveling to your departure place in order to leave earlier. We are planning on leaving from Stuart Inlet about 730am. Local knowledge says the inlet can be tricky because the sandbars shift and are not marked very well. We talked to Mike (actually from Myrtle Beach and son went to Socastee) and he said they were marking the channel better and we should be able to make an exit there, if not we will travel down the waterway for several hours before we can enter the ocean. The key seems to be making an exit on high tide and follow the water out into the ocean. Weather reports seem to be on our side to sail on the ocean the entire way back to Georgetown, SC.
Life is good.

Stewart Little?

Nope! Stuart, Florida

Here we come....

We are headed down South to sail a boat back to Myrtle Beach with a good friend (Richard). We will leave sometime Sunday night or Monday morning to sail back. We will try to blog from the boat depending on internet service. We are EXCITED!

This is Stuart and this is where we will be sailing, not the 95 route that Google shows. For some reason it will not show a water route.

Firsts.

Drew and I have had a number of less than memorable firsts to be quite honest with you all.  I know that may come as a shock to those of you who are Drew and Melanie fans and know us to be completely perfect together...like peas and carrots, like Forrest and Jen-nay....but the shaky starts we have experienced in our relationship aren't issues between us, they are circumstance based.  

Rain/Storms.
Most often, when we start out on some new adventure, it will rain. Lots of serious rain. This has happened so often and with such consistency that those of you who know us will recognize the R in our signature HKR333 stands for RAIN.  We have always believed in the cleansing quality of the rain, literally and metaphorically in our lives, so we totally expect rain on this trip. We are not afraid of storms as we set out upon learning to sail the big boat or beginning the journey to live aboard as a whole.  In fact we welcome the experience since we know that weathering storms has produced this solidity we feel with each other today.

Naysayers.
Ugh. Well, we know this is our dream and we have come to the agreement that it is not for everyone, however we did not realize that so many of our friends and acquaintances live in fear.  Fear of the unknown, fear of change, fear for us, fear of having few material goods, fear of the ocean...Fear of being happy (I'll save this one for another blog)?? Some questions and comments we've heard follow:  You'll be eaten by sharks!, You are going to abandon your children? (our children want to come with us...and it may happen!), You could get lost and end up in Africa, How do you know where to go?, What if the wind stops?, Pirates...You know they have speed boats and machine guns now (my personal favorite - as if pirates are still on 18th century sailing vessels equipped with cannon and parrots), You won't have ice!, People in other countries hate Americans, You know most of those governments down there are unstable...and the list continues. We still have to put up the force field Star Wars style...it's ok.  We are good at it by now.  Whatever!

So this is another first.  Bring it on! We are excited and have a healthy amount of respect for the ocean. Drew knows boats and I am learning more every day.  Anywhere we are with each other is home.  So another first.  YES!  

Found a boat! Too Late!!

Long story made short...one Sunday afternoon we found a boat...an Island Packet 31.  It was perfect in every way.  We were sold.  So was the boat by the time we called the owners back.  We can't talk about it.

Really?

It's Saturday afternoon, not even summer by most accounts, and by two in the afternoon it is HOT.  You know Charleston gets so hot so soon (right, Hootie?).  The biting flies and mosquitoes have discovered that I am their buffet; a blood meal with a kick after the couple of beers I had at lunch.  Good beer and mussels pistou at the Rue.  That's 39 Rue de Jean for those of you unfortunate souls who aren't familiar. My intention is to bring all flies and mosquitoes who choose me the best in international cuisine.  Bon appetit y'all.

We received a call from a friend of a friend about a deal. Well, deal is a magic word my friends.  Especially in the boating world right now because it could very well be true in this economy.  The story:  A divorce.  A bitter woman.  A massive Catamaran.   A 50 foot custody battle.  A desperate owner willing to sell practically for dock fees.  I look out over the glistening Ashley River and back to this behemoth of a boat sitting in the boatyard.  By the way, boatyards are interesting places. In my opinion, they are much like a gynecologists office for boats. Here they are, sitting up in the stirrups for the world to see their delicate but highly functional parts.  50 feet of Catamaran in well...ok shape still makes me have butterflies.  I begin to think and plan...Needs some paint, some love, some blue water.  As I'm walking through the salon noticing the amazing amount of light pouring in, I imagine myself in my bathing suit and gauzy cover-up serving drinks to friends.  As sweat rolls down my back and my belly I am reminded that nothing will be gauzy for very long in this climate or the one we are dreaming about.  I duck into room after room.  I know I could definitely live here; the berth is an actual queen bed...not even kidding!

Drew and I look at each other with that knowing look, if this boat is priced as we were told, we are sleeping here tonight and driving to Myrtle Beach from Charleston every day until summer!  So with the owner we talk and we laugh and we sit on the deck.  We split up and look at every detail: lines, navigation equipment engines, refrigerators, stove, head, and we grow more and more hopeful.   After an hour and a half, I climb down the ladder to signal the end of my looking and I hear Drew's voice on the wind, "Well, what are you asking for your boat?"  I am now playing a frenzied match game in my head...please let the words that pour from his wallet match what we raced here for.  $150, 000.  Really?  I wish I could charge mosquitos and flies for my high quality blood.  Then I could buy this boat.